Absolute newbie to camera's, but would like a good straight forward new one. Thanks!

I own a little Casio Exilim at the moment. But take a lot of pictures of my children and puppies. The point and click camera I own is slow and drives me crazy missing the shots I need. I am looking for of course good quality pics, quick, not so much about the huge megapixal or needing large prints, just good quality pics for family and placing pictures on my website. One of my customers has a Nikon D50 and loves it. What do you think?

The Nikon D50 is a great camera. But in your case, I think that buying this camera might be over doing it. Also, this camera isn't exactly "straight forward." Because it is an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) it has more manual features and was made for someone who really wants to get more envolved with their photography. The Sony H2 or H5 are both good choices and are much easier to use. The Canon S3 IS is also a great camera. Any of these will give you a fast enough shutter speed to take the pictures that you are wanting to take. You may also want to go for something that is smaller and you can put in your purse. The downside of this, however, is that you are losing the zoom. For this the new Fuji F20 is a great camera. The best thing to do before you buy is to go to an electronics store and try them all first hand. You should even try your friend's D50, you may like it and with the automatic mode it may be easier to understand. Hope this helps...anymore questions let me know.

Nikon D50 is light simple to use and has 6.1 megapixels to play with enlarging your favorite.
This is an Sinlge Reflex Lens camera though and is a tiny bit more difficuly than a point and shoot. The flexibility of the camera usage is great though. Borrow one froma friend and use for a couple of hours, I think you will be sold, if the price does not run you off.

As my dad used to tell me, it largely depends on what you're using it for. If you just want point and shoot snapshots, then get a point and shoot camera with a few extra features so you won't get bored.

But if you want this as a hobby, the dCabral is right. Get something that'll grow with you as your experience in photography expands. And nothing does that like a good photo class.